Zopherus haldemani Horn 1870

Zopherus haldemani Horn, 1870:271.—Champion, 1884:43.—Casey, 1907b: 463

This subspecies is apparently a continuation of the trend from the dark (nodulosus) to the lighter (sallaei) form. This is the lightest form of the series and, as Casey (1907b: 463) remarks, is rather constant in coloration. The sutural rows of black blotches are contiguous and form a continuous black band from base to apex. There is also an irregular longitudinal black band on the pronotum. The lateral areas of both pronotum and elytra are predominately white.

Because the constant pattern of coloration appears to be geographic, it seems advisable to retain the trinomial for this and the previous taxon. Most of the specimens seen from north of the Rio Grande River are readily separable from those from Mexico.

MEASUREMENTS.—Length 14.6–29.4 mm; width 5.7–11.3 mm.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—379 from the localities that follow. UNITED STATES. TEXAS: Austin, Bastrop, Benchley, Berclair, Brenham, Brownsville, Brownwood, Calvert, Camp Bullis, Camp Swift, College Station, Columbus, Corpus Christi, Cypress Mill, Deckers Prairie, Dime Box, Fort Sam Houston, Galveston, Handley, Hearne, Kerrville, Lackland Air Force Base, Lexington, Luling, Montell, New Braunfels, Palmetto State Park, Roma, Rock Island, Round Mountain, Sabinal, Salado, San Antonio, Seagraves, Taylor, 15 miles north of Temple, Twin Sisters, Uvalde, Victoria, Waco, Dimmitt County, Eastland County, Gillespie County, Grimes County, Harris County, Limestone County, Montague County. MEXICO. NUEVO LEON: Horsetail Falls, 25 miles south of Monterrey; Chipinque Mesa, near Monterrey. SAN LUIS POTOSI: El Salto Falls. DURANGO: 5 miles southwest of Cuencamé.

I have seen specimens labeled “Guatemala,” “California,” “Monticello, Florida,” and “Louisiana” and am inclined to discount all except possibly the latter. Specimens have been taken in every month except February and December.